H. Greg Chamandy has stepped down from his roles as Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Gildan Activewear, in order to pursue other business interests. He has also resigned as a member of the Board of Directors. Glenn
J. Chamandy will assume sole responsibility for the Chief Executive Officer role. Robert M. Baylis, an independent director, will replace H. Greg Chamandy as Chairman of the Board. These changes are effective immediately.
“I am committed to the challenge of leading Gildan's management team as
we implement the next phase of our growth strategy which we announced in
December of 2003”, stated Glenn Chamandy. “The key elements of this plan are
the expansion of our integrated offshore fabric-manufacturing capacity in
Honduras, the Dominican Republic and now in Nicaragua, and our new initiative
to capitalize on these major capital investments by building Gildan into a
presence in the mass-market retail channel. At the same time, we will remain
focussed on reinforcing our leading position in the screenprint market.”
“I am delighted that Bob Baylis has agreed to serve as our first non-
executive Chairman. Bob's experience and credentials as a highly-respected
U.S. public company director, and his commitment to first-class corporate
governance, will be a great asset to Gildan as our Board continues to oversee
our development and maturation as a public company listed in both Canada and
the United States.”
Mr. Baylis serves on the Board of several U.S. public corporations and
non-profit organizations. He previously enjoyed a successful career with
Credit Suisse First Boston, acting as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
C.S. First Boston (Pacific). Mr. Baylis has been a director of Gildan since
1999 and was appointed Lead Director in 2003.
The cost of fulfilling the Company's financial obligations to H. Greg
Chamandy over the remaining life of his contract will be reflected in the
fourth quarter of the current fiscal year. The charge to be recorded for
ongoing compensation commitments pursuant to his employment agreement amounts
to approximately U.S. $3.0 million or U.S. $0.10 per diluted share, after tax.
The Board of Directors of Gildan expresses its appreciation to H. Greg
Chamandy, who was co-founder of Gildan and played a major role in building
Gildan into a leader in its industry and a significant public company.